Wind Factory Watch: Goldwind: Montana
Goldwind America, which installed the first three (and only) Chinese wind turbines in the U.S. in 2009, said Friday it is considering opening a U.S. wind turbine manufacturing facility in Montana. Goldwind is one of the five largest turbine manufacturers in the world.
The potential Goldwind facility is an example of the type of manufacturing facility that will come to the U.S. if steps are taken to ensure a strong, long-term wind market.
Goldwind is now in the preliminary stages of site selection. To ensure that Goldwind and other major wind companies see U.S. manufacturing as a valuable investment, Congress must act to extend the 1603 convertible tax credit and provide the market support through a Renewable Electricity Standard that is critical for project developers to expand U.S. wind installations. These policies are critical to growing wind energy manufacturing jobs here in the U.S.
Goldwind is following a market entry strategy that is well-known in the wind industry. After seeking to develop initial market share, turbine manufacturers serve the U.S. market with domestic manufacturing facilities. Of the top 10 manufacturers of turbines installed in the U.S. in 2009, nine have online or announced manufacturing facilities in the U.S.
Since Goldwind’s parent company is Chinese, the expansion of Goldwind America is a good example of “insourcing” of foreign capital to create American jobs, in the reverse of the outsourcing phenomenon in other industries. Wind energy is a powerful source of manufacturing jobs and insourcing brings more of those jobs to American shores.
Strong Chinese policy support for the wind energy industry has driven Goldwind’s rapid rise to become a major player in the wind industry and the second largest manufacturer in China. In 2010, the U.S. wind industry installed 10 GW of new wind generating capacity, while China installed around 14 GW. This year, the difference in national supports for the wind industry will become even more stark, as annual Chinese wind installation will likely be more than double U.S. annual installation. Without action by the U.S. Congress, China is poised to quickly overtake the U.S. as the world leader in wind installation.
Information about Goldwind’s announced trip to consider siting a facility in Montana can be found here.
Previous posts in this series:
Wind Factory Watch: Mass Tank: Massachusetts, 10/14/10
Wind Factory Watch: Vestas: Colorado, 10/13/10
Wind Factory Watch: Moventas: Oregon, 9/21/10
Wind Factory Watch: Energetx: Michigan, 9/7/10
Wind Factory Watch: Avanti: Wisconsin, 9/3/10
Wind Factory Watch: Second Wind: Massachusetts, 9/2/10
Wind Factory Watch: TPI Composites: Massachusetts, 8/26/10
Wind Factory Watch: Blade Dynamics: Louisiana, 8/25/10
Wind Factory Watch: Vestas: Colorado, 7/7/10
Wind Factory Watch: Eagle Claw: Oklahoma, 6/30/10
Wind Factory Watch: Alstom: Texas, 5/27/10
Wind Factory Watch: Beckmann Volmer, Arkansas, 5/21/10
Wind Factory Watch: Ingersoll Machine Tools, 5/15/10
Wind Factory Watch: ZF Industries, Georgia, 5/10/10
